Ba has admitted he was eager to join Chelsea because of the club’s size and its squad of "world-class players".

“When you know a club like Chelsea wants you the decision is going to be easy,” he told TalkSport. “With all due respect to Newcastle, because Newcastle is a big club with a big history.

“I woke up on Wednesday and prepared myself to play against Everton, I got a text from the manager to tell me I need to come and see him and from that moment I knew that everything was fixed for me to go.”

Ba made 54 first-team appearances for Newcastle since joining them from West Ham in 2011, scoring 29 times.

“I’m very happy, very pleased to play with these players [at Chelsea].” Ba continued. “They’re world-class players and when you play with them it’s something different, they’re really intelligent in the game.